This invention related to an improved apparatus for handling textile strand material packages and more particularly to an apparatus capable of adapting to and holding a range of sizes and types of such packages.
As will be appreciated by those familiar with the textile arts, it is frequently desired to package strand material such as yarn or thread in wound packages in order to facilitate handling of the material between process steps in the manufacture of textile materials such as fabrics. One example, intended only for illustration of one application for the invention to be described more fully hereinafter, is in the winding of beams for looms, where many (sometimes hundreds or thousands of) packages of textile strand materials are mounted in a creel and material is drawn from the packages and wound about a beam which is later mounted in a loom. Other examples will easily come to the mind of skilled persons.
Textile processes have been used in a wide variety and range of configurations and sizes of packages formed by winding strand material about elongate, hollow cores. Two examples only are the winding of yarn about right circular cylindrical cores into packages (known sometimes as "cheeses" for their resemblance to certain types of cheese) and the winding of yarn about conical cores. In both instances, the size of a package core and the size of the completed package can vary, with individual producers often choosing package configurations and sizes for reasons known only to themselves.
As will be appreciated by the thoughtful reader, the proliferation of package types and sizes presents problems for the manufacturer who consumes such packaged strands in the further processing of the textile materials, such as a weaving mill. Unless great care is taken in the consistent selection of strand materials and suppliers, strand materials in a number of various package configurations and types will come into a mill for use. As that occurs, some accommodation must be made to the various sizes and types of packages.
Prior to the present invention, such accommodation had only limited success. More particularly, attempts were made to have mounts capable of receiving more than one size and types of package, and some success had been achieved for adapters capable of receiving and handling two or perhaps three such sizes or types. Many such adapters have used fluid pressure actuators to assure that packages received are held in place for use. Others have provided components which must be manually exchanged in order to accommodate varying sizes and types of packages. As will be appreciated, both approaches have difficulties inherent in them of either increased complexity and risk of inoperativeness or increased need for operator attention and impairment of manufacturing efficiency.
A more successful approach is disclosed in international Application PCT/US88/02155 (U.S. application Ser. No. 435,494 filed Nov. 6, 1989), where a package adapter invented by the inventor of the present subject invention is described. That package adapter successfully accepts a wider range of sizes and types of package cores than was possible prior to the invention of that adapter, and provides for controlled release of a package core through the provision of a latch mechanism. While such a latching adapter has been well received by the industry, there are users and application for which the latching approach is deemed undesirable.